The 50 year-old said he was looking forward to welcoming back his full squad after fielding an Olympics team consisting mostly of players aged under 23. His disappointment was evident, however.

"You can see by the look on my face what my feelings are," he added on Saturday.

"We did excellent work throughout the tournament and we believed until the final match that we had a very good fighting chance of getting gold.

"When you lose, you feel under dark skies. That was the atmosphere I left in the dressing room right now."

Brazil conceded a poor opening goal within the first minute when Rafael failed to make a backward pass to a teammate, allowing Mexico midfielder Javier Aquino to intercept the ball. He put Oribe Peralta through on goal, who, with no defenders near him, calmly scored just inside the near post. Juan Jesus then exchanged heated words with Rafael in front of the Wembley crowd.

Juan explained: "I had a fight with Rafael after he lost the ball and they scored from it.

"So we said some words to each other in the heat of the moment. But it is over now, and we have help to each other."

Dejected Brazil captain Thiago Silva was one of the three permitted over-23s in the squad.

He said: "What we have to do is somehow get through this bad moment. Life doesn't end here. The football season is just starting and we have to think about it."

In contrast, Mexico's players were ecstatic with their gold medals. Tottenham midfielder Giovani Dos Santos, who missed the final owing to injury, said: "This gold medal goes to all of those in Mexico who always believed in us. I want them to enjoy and to celebrate.